Writer Armina Ligaya interviews my old boss, Pieter Venema, who built the Kohn Shnier designed Muskoka cottage for two families shown above (and that was my last hurrah in the business, covered in TreeHugger here). What I hoped for is finally happening:

Architects are “embracing” industrialized building, says Pieter Venema, president of Wingham, Ont.-based Royal Homes. “It’s got more of an upscale cache to it,” he said. “People are really beginning to understand the concept and see the benefits of it. It’s slow to change but we do see it.”

One of the biggest problems in marketing prefab was that everyone always thinks it should be cheaper than a conventionally built house. However it is almost impossible to compete with a subdivision builder who is essentially creating an assembly line in the field. Pieter explains:

Our solution is not a cheaper option, it’s not a more expensive option,” he said. “If you go to a subdivision builder, it’s probably cheaper. But you’re getting a house that’s not customized, and usually not to the same spec as well. It’s just a different type of product.